Downtown Manhattan’s Pier 36 is going coconuts for Art on Paper 2019. The excellent, paper-based show returns with works from 85 galleries.
A beachy, rum-punch served in coconuts welcomes visitors to the increasingly cool Art on Paper Fair. Curated, as the title states, around paper-based art – galleries display their wares from sketches to final pieces. That includes prints, drawings, sculpture, montages, collages and all things in between. It’s one of my favorite events on the art calendar because, well, it’s all based on paper.
Upon entering the exhibition space, Samuelle Green’s large-scale installation, Manifestation 4, seemingly undulates in front of you. On closer inspection, it’s made up of sheets of books (discarded paperbacks set for recycling), rolled into cones and shaped into softly curved through lines. This structure, evocative of a coral reef, invites visitors to walk through and explore it from all angles. The brilliance, or lack thereof, of the paper creates beautiful shades of light and dark, and defines the work’s shape and movement.
Detail of paper cones from Samuelle Green's Manifestation 4
I recognized work from many galleries from my visits in previous years, and it was interesting to see the artists' continuation – how did their work evolve or change?
Thematically, works covered a broad range: from social and political commentary, to satire, to humor, to narratives, to experimental, and to simply capturing beauty. It's a homey atmosphere, where the art and the galleries feel approachable to all. Much of the work is so tactile, I have to restrain myself from handling it.
It was a gorgeous saturday in New York – much needed and thoroughly enjoyed seemingly by all, as the fair was quite crowded. That positive energy in the room only added to the experience.
Here’s a sampling of work that caught my eye this year.
Panel from "Paintings and Drawings of Troubled People and Untrustworthy Mammals" Artist: Writer Dave Eggers
White Portrait 8 | IIhwa Kim, hand-dyed Korean paper hanji
Detail of White Portrait 8
Evening Rising to Meet You | Anita Groener, painted twigs, paper
Typographic Cutouts Series | Hideto Yagi
Make the World Colorful, Typographic Cutouts | Hideto Yagi
Silhouette block print
Ping Pong | Travis Somerville, pigment prints affixed to paddles
Signs | Drew Leshko, paper and wood
Ink and paint on paper
Notebook Sheets | Adam Greener, paper, paint and clipboard
The Lost Morning | Alan Magee, acrylic and graphite
Paper Sculpture | Seçkin Pirim, bristol paper cut out, front and back
Photos: © 2019 Janet Giampietro.
